Brendan Rodgers VS Rafael Benitez Transfer Spend

Steven Gerrard: Rafael Benitez was cold and controlling

Steven Gerrard says his relationship with former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez was "distant and emotionless".

The 35-year-old midfielder, who left Anfield in May after 17 years, revealed the details in his autobiography. 

"I can pick up the phone and speak to all of my previous Liverpool managers, except for Rafa," said Gerrard.

"It's a shame because we shared the biggest night of our careers - the 2005 Champions League victory in Istanbul - yet there is no bond between us."

Former England captain Gerrard insists the "frostiness" made him a better player as he had "a hunger" to get a compliment from the Spaniard.

"On a basic human level I prefer a likeable manager, such as Gerard Houllier or Brendan Rodgers, but in terms of football I really don't mind working with a colder man," added Gerrard, who joined LA Galaxy this summer.

"An emotionless and distant relationship with the likes of Rafa Benitez and Fabio Capello can sometimes produce more success."

Facts, facts, facts

In January 2009, with Liverpool top of the Premier League, then-Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson commented that nerves might ruin the Reds' title bid.

Benitez, in a bizarre and passionate news conference, responded to this by pulling out a sheet of paper and reading out a list of accusations about Ferguson's conduct regarding referees, the FA's Respect campaign and fixture lists. Benitez backed up his points by saying "this is a fact".

But Gerrard, who played 710 times for Liverpool, was left cringing by the exchange.

"Rafa kept saying 'fact, fact, fact' and I could not believe what I was hearing," said Gerrard. "I was grabbing the couch, digging my fingers into the arms, feeling embarrassed for him.

"When I met up with England, all the Manchester United players told me Fergie was just laughing at Rafa, saying: 'I've got him, I've got him'."

Benitez left Liverpool in June 2010 and is now in charge at Real Madrid.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34235825

I always felt the relationship between Gerrard and Rafa was a strange one. I remember when Gerrard asked for a transfer and was about to go to Chelsea all Rafa said was "now we can go shopping" as if he welcomed the opportunity.

Similarly after the F.A. CUP FINAL when asked what he thought of Gerrard's wonder goal he said " It was a great save by Pepe" which had me wondering WTF!

From what I understand Gerrard and Carra didn't exactly welcome Rafa with open arms when he first met them at the Euros, so maybe that didn't help.

Difference is if you have listened to Jamie on Sky recently, I think even he knows now, Rafa made him a better defender.

On the Gerrard thing, said it in another thread, Stevie always seems to me to want the arm round the shoulder, constantly told how well he has done. The type of management he was used to under Houllier changed a lot under Rafa, when Rafa treated him more like the senior player who should not need that arm round the shoulder type management.

Difference is if you have listened to Jamie on Sky recently, I think even he knows now, Rafa made him a better defender.

On the Gerrard thing, said it in another thread, Stevie always seems to me to want the arm round the shoulder, constantly told how well he has done. The type of management he was used to under Houllier changed a lot under Rafa, when Rafa treated him more like the senior player who should not need that arm round the shoulder type management.

I think it went a bit further than that mate but it didn't seem to do either of them any harm.

I think it went a bit further than that mate but it didn't seem to do either of them any harm.

Yeah think in the final season or so, stuff to do with Ayre, Purslow etc!

Steven Gerrard: Rafael Benitez was cold and controlling

Steven Gerrard says his relationship with former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez was "distant and emotionless".

The 35-year-old midfielder, who left Anfield in May after 17 years, revealed the details in his autobiography. 

"I can pick up the phone and speak to all of my previous Liverpool managers, except for Rafa," said Gerrard.

"It's a shame because we shared the biggest night of our careers - the 2005 Champions League victory in Istanbul - yet there is no bond between us."

Former England captain Gerrard insists the "frostiness" made him a better player as he had "a hunger" to get a compliment from the Spaniard.

"On a basic human level I prefer a likeable manager, such as Gerard Houllier or Brendan Rodgers, but in terms of football I really don't mind working with a colder man," added Gerrard, who joined LA Galaxy this summer.

"An emotionless and distant relationship with the likes of Rafa Benitez and Fabio Capello can sometimes produce more success."

Facts, facts, facts

In January 2009, with Liverpool top of the Premier League, then-Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson commented that nerves might ruin the Reds' title bid.

Benitez, in a bizarre and passionate news conference, responded to this by pulling out a sheet of paper and reading out a list of accusations about Ferguson's conduct regarding referees, the FA's Respect campaign and fixture lists. Benitez backed up his points by saying "this is a fact".

But Gerrard, who played 710 times for Liverpool, was left cringing by the exchange.

"Rafa kept saying 'fact, fact, fact' and I could not believe what I was hearing," said Gerrard. "I was grabbing the couch, digging my fingers into the arms, feeling embarrassed for him.

"When I met up with England, all the Manchester United players told me Fergie was just laughing at Rafa, saying: 'I've got him, I've got him'."

Benitez left Liverpool in June 2010 and is now in charge at Real Madrid.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34235825

I always felt the relationship between Gerrard and Rafa was a strange one. I remember when Gerrard asked for a transfer and was about to go to Chelsea all Rafa said was "now we can go shopping" as if he welcomed the opportunity.

Similarly after the F.A. CUP FINAL when asked what he thought of Gerrard's wonder goal he said " It was a great save by Pepe" which had me wondering WTF!

From what I understand Gerrard and Carra didn't exactly welcome Rafa with open arms when he first met them at the Euros, so maybe that didn't help.

Rafa never singled out a player for credit he always refered to the team. Don't care what anyone says it is possible we may never see the heights he took us too ever again.

Maybe if Rodgers wasn't trying to be everyone's best friend he might get better performances out the players.

Who cares about transfer spend at the end of the day? Rafa delivered trophies, Champions League football and created one of the best teams in Europe. If Rafa had the 100mill to spend in a summer then he'd have signed the likes of David Villa, David Silva, Dani Alves and Aguero...all players he wanted but got told he couldn't have by the owners. Add that to he likes of Torres, Masch, Gerrard and Alonso and we'd have been sitting with number 19 and possibly more. He wouldn't have been signing the likes of Markovic, Lallana, Lovren etc for crazy money.

Fact of the matter is, with Rafa there was a real atmosphere at the club that we were on the brink of something special, everything at the club down from the owners was bang on, there was a unity where we had a line up of quality in virtually every position. Rafa understood the club, the fans and the city and generally everything about Liverpool. He wasn't trying to please the owners, he was trying to please us and get results. Something that won't happen by wasting your money on players like Aspas etc

He wouldn't have been signing the likes of Markovic, Lallana, Lovren etc for crazy money.

Robbie Keane, Aquilani, Glen Johnson ?

Robbie Keane, Aquilani, Glen Johnson ?

Wasn't Keane forced on Rafa thats why he didnt last that long. Johnson did ok for Rafa but buying Aquilani with a broken Ankle is still a mystery.

Wasn't Keane forced on Rafa thats why he didnt last that long. Johnson did ok for Rafa but buying Aquilani with a broken Ankle is still a mystery.

As I understood it Aquilani was one of the only options as Roma were willing to take payments spread over X amount of years. It was all hands tied stuff back then. Same with Johnson, as for Keane i'm pretty sure he was a genuine mistake but Rafa was quick enough to notice it and ship him back out.

I can accept mistakes, we all make them and will make more but it's recognising the mistake and adapting so that mistake at least has less chances to happen again that earns respect and credibility. It's one of the, now, many reasons why I believe so many are done with Brendan, he simply doesn't adapt fast enough when things start to go wrong. He's stubborn in the worst way, there's knowing you're right when people believe you're wrong but there's a greater talent in admitting you're wrong when you are quite simply wrong.

Robbie Keane, Aquilani, Glen Johnson ?

But to be fair, Keane was a proven Premier League goal scorer who was doing it season after season with Spurs so on paper he was an ideal signing but he unfortunately didn't settle.

Aquilani wasn't as bad as some make out him to be. Obviously there was massive injury problems for him so that should have been a warning sign but when he played you could see he had quality and some of his play with Gerrard and Torres was quality and all 3 of them were instantly on the same wavelength but then he would of course get injured again but if I was given the option of Aquilani signings back then or Milner now then I would hands down take the gamble on Aquilani.

Johnson, I have never rated him but he was fairly decent going forward at first but yeah simply not good enough for what we paid.

A big plus for Rafa, he lifted us to a Champions League victory in 2005, especially seemingly being dead and buried at half time.

A big plus for Rafa, he lifted us to a Champions League victory in 2005, especially seemingly being dead and buried at half time.

he also got us to another final and another semi can you believe how far we have fallen since he left

For me it's not about the spend but what players we can attract. I think we are still one of the best supported teams in the world so should be able to attract a high calibre of player. Ok I know we have dropped down the list a bit after Real, Barca, United, Arsenal , Chesea and the Glasgow pair in terms of Global support but I still feel we are up there but attracting players like Borini, Aspas, Fermino and Markovic are going to leave us second tier.

For me it's not about the spend but what players we can attract. I think we are still one of the best supported teams in the world so should be able to attract a high calibre of player. Ok I know we have dropped down the list a bit after Real, Barca, United, Arsenal , Chesea and the Glasgow pair in terms of Global support but I still feel we are up there but attracting players like Borini, Aspas, Fermino and Markovic are going to leave us second tier.

Arsenal, Chelsea and the Glasgow teams don't have the same amount of global support as LFC.

Which is why I find it strange when people say the likes of Ancelloti or Klopp would not come here.
Like the Milan teams we have fallen on recent hard times but still Giants in the football world.

But to be fair, Keane was a proven Premier League goal scorer who was doing it season after season with Spurs so on paper he was an ideal signing but he unfortunately didn't settle.

Aquilani wasn't as bad as some make out him to be. Obviously there was massive injury problems for him so that should have been a warning sign but when he played you could see he had quality and some of his play with Gerrard and Torres was quality and all 3 of them were instantly on the same wavelength but then he would of course get injured again but if I was given the option of Aquilani signings back then or Milner now then I would hands down take the gamble on Aquilani.

Johnson, I have never rated him but he was fairly decent going forward at first but yeah simply not good enough for what we paid.

To be honest mate, I think people will always try to find excuses for the managers they love and respect and condemn the managers that they don't for similar mistakes.

Playing people out of position for example is not just a trick Brendan has invented, Rafa did it too, Babbel , Gerrard, Carra, Sissoko, Skrtel (cost us vital points against middlesbro' in our title chasing season) etc etc.

Struggling to turn a team around is something Rafa, Kenny and Brendan have all struggled with, it cost Rafa and Kenny their jobs  (among other reasons) it will probably cost Brendan his too.

Houllier was sacked after coming fourth while most now see fourth as Brendan's only salvation.

I could go on but there's no point and no answer... people see what they want to see whoever the manager is and they will interpret things as they will.   

Rafa could have turned the team around. Our fans were impatient and spoiled unfortunately.

Rafa could have turned the team around. Our fans were impatient and spoiled unfortunately.

So could Kenny mate, but FSG were impatient and spoiled unfortunately

So could Kenny mate, but FSG were impatient and spoiled unfortunately

That's complete conjecture. Of course most of us as fans believe he could turn it around but given as our transfer targets for that summer were Diame and Rasmus Elm, I'm not convinced that Kenny was on the right track. Though he certainly had us playing better football than the sh*te we are playing now.

That's complete conjecture. Of course most of us as fans believe he could turn it around but given as our transfer targets for that summer were Diame and Rasmus Elm, I'm not convinced that Kenny was on the right track. Though he certainly had us playing better football than the sh*te we are playing now.

One thing you can say about Kenny is that at least when he bought a big striker he had an idea of what he wanted to do with him and bought players accordingly. Diame probably would have been a good fit for what he was aiming at.

We've bought Benteke and not much I've seen so far suggests we have any real plan of how to get the best out of him and the other players who play with him.

One thing you can say about Kenny is that at least when he bought a big striker he had an idea of what he wanted to do with him and bought players accordingly. Diame probably would have been a good fit for what he was aiming at.

We've bought Benteke and not much I've seen so far suggests we have any real plan of how to get the best out of him and the other players who play with him.

That's very true and if Downing had been as successful as he should have been, as a lot of people forget he was actually a very talented player then, I have no doubt both Carroll and Suarez would have scored more that season and we'd have been a much better team.

Kenny liked using the 4-4-2 which I actually do think is a very good formation, we at least had some width and we stretched teams a lot more. Whereas Brendan plays a 5 man midfield made up entirely of central players and wonders why we can't get in behind defensive teams.

I certainly had more confidence in Kenny, even when we were losing league games for fun, than I do in Brendan now. Though Kenny had earned that confidence by actually winning trophies and getting good performances out of the team, even if we weren't getting the results.

That's complete conjecture. Of course most of us as fans believe he could turn it around but given as our transfer targets for that summer were Diame and Rasmus Elm, I'm not convinced that Kenny was on the right track. Though he certainly had us playing better football than the sh*te we are playing now.

No it's F***ing not, Kenny would of turned us around had he been given the chance, complain about the signings all you want, but when he bought Adams and Henderson, we were not in Europe, which meant attracting those with that little bit of real star quality was never going to happen, because they would of wanted to be playing in europe etc.

At least it was a joy to go the match under Kenny, the last season and a bit the football has been sterile at best.

That's complete conjecture. Of course most of us as fans believe he could turn it around but given as our transfer targets for that summer were Diame and Rasmus Elm, I'm not convinced that Kenny was on the right track. Though he certainly had us playing better football than the sh*te we are playing now.

F***ing hell, I forgot about the Rasmus Elm link!

We gotta stop targeting sh*t players, regardless of who the manager is. Our scouting is abysmal.

No it's f**king not, Kenny would of turned us around had he been given the chance, complain about the signings all you want, but when he bought Adams and Henderson, we were not in Europe, which meant attracting those with that little bit of real star quality was never going to happen, because they would of wanted to be playing in europe etc.

At least it was a joy to go the match under Kenny, the last season and a bit the football has been sterile at best.

Well it is conjecture, given as it's a hypothetical situation with no proof either way whether he would have turned us around. I agree that we played more exciting football under Kenny, despite the fact we couldn't finish to save our lives, and the fact we actually won a trophy that year should have kept him in the job in my opinion. I would definitely have kept Kenny in the job.

But at the start of the summer after that season, before he was sacked, the transfer targets were really not inspiring and with the benefit of hindsight would most likely, though not definitely, have only dragged us further into mediocrity. The big mistake was getting in a rookie manager who has never won anything and only had one season in top-flight football under his belt which has now taken us to mediocrity anyway.

i never understood why robbie keane was considered a flop, he scored the same amount of goals for liverpool that tevez scored for man u that season , yet tevez was considered a revelation. It was really weird. The media seemed to not want liverpool to have more that 2 first class striking options yet united were fine with having 4 with 2 on the bench.